The results of a study conducted on samples of “legal highs” seized from headshops by law enforcement and health services in Poland between mid-2008 and mid-2011 are presented. A total of 449 preparations were analysed, which differed in terms of labelling, net mass, forms of distribution, etc. A variety of sophisticated analytical methods, including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography-quadrupole mass spectrometry-time of flight (LC-QTOF-MS), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were used for component identification and quantification. The most common ingredients of legal highs were (in descending order): MPDV, caffeine, butylone, TFMPP, lidocaine, 4-MEC, mephedrone, pFPP, BZP and MDPBP. The dispersion of substances has changed over time and piperazines have often been replaced by cathinones. Most preparations consisted of two or more ingredients. Cathonones and piperazines were mainly mixed in chemical classes (77.6% and 56.1% of double compounds, respectively), caffeine was mixed with piperazines (24 products) and cathinones (22 products), while lidocaine was mixed only with the latter class (47 products). A large inconsistency in the qualitative and quantitative composition of identically labelled products was demonstrated by an example of coconut products seized after August 2010; We found 10 different single-component or mixed preparations, and the content of each ingredient ranged from several to hundreds of mg. This article summarizes the possible dangers associated with the uncontrolled sale of psychoactive substances and highlights important issues for the analysis of legal highs. These drugs can be found in powder, tablet, liquid, smoke mixture or capsule form. Methoxetamine (also known as “Mexphy”) is available on the Internet and is marketed as “legal ketamine”.
It is an arylcyclohexylamine chemically related to ketamine and PCP (phencyclidine). Methoxetamine works longer and stronger than ketamine. The drug, a white powder, is usually taken sublingually, snorted, “bombarded” or injected intramuscularly. Doses are usually between 5 mg and 90 mg orally. After sniffing the drug, it may take 30 to 90 minutes for its effect to become visible. When injected, the start of action is usually within five to ten minutes. The total duration of the action is between 1 and 3 hours, sometimes more. The drug induces feelings of detachment (dissociative state), paranoid symptoms, visual hallucinations, restlessness and increased energy in some. Other reported symptoms include confusion, catatonia, depression, tachycardia, and high blood pressure. Methoxetamine is now a Schedule B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act.18 19 For the purposes of this article, readers should use the terms legal highs, designer drugs, bath salts, herbal highs, “research” chemicals, and new psychoactive substances interchangeably.
Their main purpose is to induce psychoactive effects that mimic amphetamines, cannabinoids or psychedelic drugs. The term “research” only implies that very little is known about these substances and that information on adverse effects is often scarce. The reader should also keep in mind that it would be beyond the scope of this article to include many other agents. Users of legal highs should be informed that these drugs purchased online may contain illegal substances and can therefore be prosecuted if found in possession. 27 In the literature, we see head shop owners preparing chemicals in concrete mixers – a highly regulated industry is not, and the long-term impact on users is still largely unknown. As for short-term deaths, deaths from legal highs have doubled over the past five years, with hospital admissions up 56% during the 2009-2012 period. Last week, five men collapsed in Rochdale after taking legal highs called Annihilation and Cherry Bomb. From the above description, it can be seen that synthetic drugs fall into three broad categories: synthetic cathinones (bath salts), synthetic cannabinoids (spices or incense) and amphetamine-type drugs (methamphetamine, ephedrine, MDMA).
Cathones, which are related to the amphetamine family, cause dilated pupils, high blood pressure, hyperventilation, paranoia, agitation, hyperthermia, tremors and convulsions. Many countries have declared some cathinones illegal, e.g. mephedrone, methylone and MDPV. In fact, robust stimulation of dopamine transmission by MDPV predicts serious potential for abuse and may provide a mechanism to explain the side effects seen in people taking high doses of “bath salt” supplements. In addition, pyrovalerone is much stronger than cocaine in inhibiting the absorption of dopamine and norepinephrine. Phenylalkylamine analogues such as amphetamine are often abused, and due to their simple structure, hundreds of amphetamine analogues have been introduced for decades. That`s why so many legal highs are available. Amphetamine (phenylisopropolamine), a well-known central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, has effects that last for several hours after ingestion. Methamphetamine is closely related to amphetamine and ephedrine (a mixed-action sympathomimetic).
Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (often used to relieve nasal congestion) are oxidized to methamphetamine or methcathinone. As with methamphetamines, methcathinones can easily be “cooked” in the laboratory and hence the term “synthetic”. Zee tells me that “just as gay rights or religious freedom are things our societies have opposed in the past and are proud of today, we will be proud to defend the cognitive freedom of tomorrow.” With all this moral talk, you suspect that part of him is having fun finding ways to annoy the establishment, which he says puts him under “close surveillance” despite his transparent – and legal – working methods. Some users will return to an illegal drug if the legal alternative is banned. There is also some curiosity about experimenting with new drugs. Yet, to keep things in perspective, the use of known more harmful illicit drugs (e.g., cocaine, amphetamines) has not declined, with more than 315 million people worldwide estimated to use them. More worryingly, millions of people inject more harmful drugs such as opiates, leading to an increase in HIV, hepatitis B and C infections. Readers are also likely aware of the violence and deaths associated with the manufacture and delivery of medicines in countries like Latin America. The World Drug Report (available on the Internet), produced annually by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), provides information on the production and marketing of illicit drugs worldwide.
The 2013 report highlights a marked increase in the availability of new substances. Part of the challenge lies in their diversity – some come from plants, for example the mint plant Salvia divinorum, native to Mexico, with synthetic cathinones and cannabinoids also making an important contribution in other countries. He later points out that making new drugs is a discovery process that is not inventive: “It`s not as intentional as most people think. The only aspects of a new molecule that I can control are its chemical structure and legality. But there is no scientific method to predict what effect it will have on the human body, mind or brain, and whether it will have any effect. “The main active components of khat are cathinone and cathine. By chewing khat, these substances are secreted into saliva. The effects are similar to those of amphetamine, although less strong. Psychological dependence occurs in some, although khat is not usually addictive.
It is available for free in many countries and its production, sale and consumption are legal, including in the Horn of Africa. In the Arabian Peninsula it is known as Arabian tea and in South Africa it is known as Bushman tea. Synthetic cathinones are usually excreted in the urine and can be measured by gas chromatography or liquid-mass spectrometry in blood, urine and stomach contents. They can also be analyzed in the hair. Unlike traditional cosmetic bath salts, which are packaged and sold to add bath water for soaking and cleaning, synthetic synthetic drugs sold as “bath salts” have no legitimate use for bathing and are intended for abuse. Bath salts contain one or more synthetic derivatives of cathinone, a natural stimulant.